Solar System Log by Andrew Wilson, published 1987 by Jane's Publishing Co. Ltd.

Surveyor 3 was the third engineering flight of the series; for the first time, it carried a soil-sampling instrument (the Soil Mechanics Surface Sampler) that could reach up to 1.5 meters from the lander and dig up to 0.5 meters deep. Unlike the previous Surveyors, Surveyor 3 began its mission from parking orbit around Earth with a burn from the Centaur upper stage, now capable of multiple firings. Although the landing radar cut out prematurely, basic inertial control ensured that Surveyor 3 landed on the lunar surface with minimal vertical velocity at 00:04:17 UT on 20 April 1967 in the southeastern region of Oceanus Procellarum, at 2°56' north latitude and 23°20' west longitude. A fairly strong sideways motion made the lander hop twice before coming to a standstill.

Less than an hour after landing, the spacecraft began transmitting the first of 6,326 TV pictures of the surrounding areas. The most exciting experiment of the mission was the deployment of the remote scooper arm, which, via commands from Earth, dug four trenches and performed four bearing tests and thirteen impact tests. Based on these experiments, scientists concluded that lunar soil had a consistency similar to wet sand, with a bearing strength of 0.7 kilograms per square centimeter-solid enough for an Apollo Lunar Module (LM). Last contact was made on 4 May 1967, two days after the lunar night began.

More than two years later, Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., and Alan L. Bean landed the Intrepid LM near the inactive Surveyor 3 lander on 18 November 1969. The astronauts recovered parts from Surveyor 3, including the soil scoop and camera system, to allow scientists to evaluate the effects of nearly two and one-half years of exposure on the Moon's surface.